(1) Field of the Invention:
The invention relates to a body controller for endoscopic surgical instruments.
(2) Brief Description of the Prior Art:
Surgical procedures require considerable touch and feel of the surgeon in the operation of the particular surgical instrumentation in order to satisfactorily and carefully accomplish the desired objective of the surgical procedure. Accordingly, surgical instruments must incorporate into their design and operability, the ability of the surgeon to rely on simple touch techniques for activation of the instruments.
Such objectives are particularly critical with respect to endoscopic surgical instruments. Endoscopic procedures gain access to the inside of an anatomical cavity by using an implement, such as a trocar, cannula, or a needle having a sharpened point, to pierce or puncture the bodily tissues, muscles, membranes, or the like, which may form a portion or surround the cavity wall. A surgical needle, for example, may be used to pierce a cavity or a blood vessel, subarachnoid heat ventricle, or the like. After piercing such cavity, the needle may be left in situ and used to inject or withdraw gases or liquid-phase fluids from the cavity, or to insufflate the cavity by injection of, for example, a particular inert gas or other fluid.
Since the area in which the surgeon must perform procedures incorporating endoscopic surgical instrumentation is smaller than that normally encountered when conventional surgical techniques are employed, reliance by the surgeon upon his touch and feel during the surgery becomes even more critical, and surgical instrumentation must take this factor into consideration such that touch and feel are transferred between the surgeon's hand and the fingers through the instrument and between the area of operation with the abdomen and the surgeon's hand.
The present invention addresses the problems and the deficiencies of the prior art, as generally discussed above.